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Abstract
Aim:
The study aimed to understand the status of pesticide residues in lactating
mother’s milk, identify factors involved in the transfer of pesticide
residues and health risk to infants.
Methodology: A total of 153 lactating mothers were selected from
four agro-climatic zones varying from subtropics to dry temperate high hills
for residue analysis. The extraction and cleanup were performed by QuEChERS
method. Residue were analysed by Shimadzu 2010 GC equipped with a 63Ni
ECD and confirmed by Shimadzu QP 2010 Plus GC-MS through selected ion
monitoring (SIM) mode. The EDI was compared with the ADI of Σ-DDT (0.02
mg kg-1 body wt d-1) established by FAO/WHO for neonate
risk assessment from different pesticides.
Results: The mean DDT levels in breast milk were 0.240 mg kg-1
fat (0.011 mg kg-1 milk), 0.171 mg kg-1 fat (0.010 mg
kg-1 milk), 0.026 mg kg-1 fat (0.001 mg kg-1
milk) and below detectable limit (BDL) in Zones I (subtropical), II
(sub-humid foothills), III (wet temperate high hills) and IV (dry temperate
high hills), respectively. The residue levels decreased with an increase in
parity and increased with the age or weight of the mothers. The Σ-DDT
residues were higher in rural women (0.011 mg kg-1 milk) than
urban (0.005 mg kg-1 milk), housewives (0.009 mg kg-1
milk) than working women (0.007 mg kg-1 milk) and
lacto-vegetarians (0.007 mg kg-1 milk) than omnivorous mothers
(0.005 mg kg-1 milk). The estimated daily exposure of neonates to
Σ-DDT was considerably lower (0.001 mg kg-1 body weight) than
the ADI (0.02 mg kg-1 body weight) indicating no appreciable risk
to one-month-old infants.
Interpretation: Mother's rural habitation, demography
and primiparous parity seem to be the major cause for transfer of pesticide
residues. The study also advocates a constant bio-monitoring of lactating
mothers’ milk for pesticide residues owing to the continuous changes in the
pesticide usage pattern.
Key
words:
Human milk, Infant exposure, Pesticide residue,
Risk assessment
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